Injector package for catamenial tampon

ABSTRACT

INJECTOR FOR HOLDING A CATAMENIAL TAMPON CONSISTS OF A CYLINDER OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL HAVING A PLURALITY OF INWARDLY PROJECTING AXIAL FOLDS, A PISTON AT ONE END, AND A PLURALITY OF INWARDLY PROJECTING FINGERS AT THE OTHER.

Feb. 20, 1973 B. P. MORANE 3,717,149

INJECTOR PACKAGE FOR CATAMENIAL TAMPON Filed Nov. 2', 1970 United StatesPatent 3,717,149 INJECTOR PACKAGE FOR CATAMENIAL. TAMPON Bruno P.Morane, Paris, France, assignor to LOreal, Paris, France Filed Nov. 2,1970, Ser. No. 86,175 Claims priority, application France, Nov. 7, 1969,6938453 Int. Cl. A61f 13/20 US. Cl. 128-263 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLQSURE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is well known that catamenialtampons for feminine hygiene are conventionally produced in the form ofcylindrical packs of fibrous cloth, which have been substantiallycompressed. These cylindrical packs are designed to increasesubstantially in volume when brought into contact with a moistenvironment.

The fibrous cloth, when placed in position, absorbs fluids by increasingin volume, thus holding itself in place.

The fact that it is highly compressed has the advantage of permittingthe absorbent pack to be more easily placed in position, but it ispreferable, in order to increase the ease with which this may be done,to locate the pack inside an injector consisting of a cylindrical memberholding the pack. This cylindrical member is provided at one end with apiston by means of which the absorbent pack may be pushed out of thecylindrical member and into position.

If very highly compressed absorbent packs are used inside suchinjectors, the absorbent material tends to expand during storage becauseit absorbs humidity from the air. As a consequence the user can nolonger eject the absorbent pack from the cylindrical member containingit because the absorbent pack has swollen so large that the pistoncannot eject it.

It has also been found that the free end of the cylindrical injector inwhich the absorbent pack is enclosed, because of its relatively sharpedge, may have an irritating effect on the mucous membranes with whichit is brought into contact. I

It is the purpose of the present invention to avoid these disadvantages,while retaining the advantage of using an injector to position theabsorbent pack.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide, as anew article of manufacture, an injector for an absorbent pack in theform of a catamenial tampon for feminine hygiene, which injectorcomprises a substantially cylindrical member holding the pack and apiston which is slidable in said cylindrical member to eject the pack.This device is essentially characterized by the fact that thesubstantially cylindrical member, which is made of a flexible material,comprises at least one axial fold extending the full length of the wallof the cylindrical member, the free end of said cylindrical member beingprovided with flexible fingers projecting inwardly toward the axis ofthat member.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cylindrical memberholding the compressed absorbent pack is provided with four foldsdefining grooves which are circumferentially distributed in at regularintervals. The cylindrical member is made of a flexible plastic materialsuch as polyethylene. The absorbent pack, when initially 3,7l7,l49Patented Feb. 20, 1973 positioned in the cylindrical member, is grippedbetween the bottoms of the folds in the walls of the cylindrical member.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the end of the injectorprovided with flexible fingers, and the corresponding end of theabsorbent pack, are coated with a lubricant, which is preferably solublein Water. Suitable lubricants for this purpose include certain polyvinylalcohols, and the presence of the lubricant facilitates the positioningof the injector and the introduction of the absorbent pack into itsposition of use. Moreover, the presence of this lubricant at the freeend of the injector somewhat diminishes the absorption of humidity bythe absorbent pack during storage.

In order that the invention may be better understood, a preferredembodiment thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustrationand example, with reference to the accom anying drawing, on which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an injector according to theinvention containing an absorbent pack; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken transversely with respect to the axisof the injector shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that reference numeral 1indicates a compressed absorbent pack of the conventional type.

The pack 1 has a substantially square section, 12 mm. on a side. It hasa length of 5 cm. and contains 3-5 grams of absorbent fibrous material.

The pack 1 is positioned inside a cylindrical member 2. The wall of themember 2 is formed with four folds 3 which appear from the outside asgrooves in the wall of the member 2. The folds 3 are parallel to theaxis of the member 2 and are spaced at intervals about the peripherythereof. They are about 2 mm. deep. The outer Wall of the member 2 ismade of flexible polyethylene and is about 0.7 mm. thick. The distancethrough the inside of the member 2 between two opposite grooves 3 is 12mm. The external diameter of the member 2 is about 17.5 mm.

The end of the member 2 from which the absorbent pack 1 is ejectedcomprises 12 fingers 4 which are bent slightly inward toward the axis ofthe member 2. The opening between the free ends of the fingers 4 has adiameter of about 10 mm.

The end of the member 2 opposite to the one carrying the fingers 4 isprovided with an enlarged rim 5 which connects the member 2 to a sleeve6 inside which the rod 7, which acts as a piston, is slidable. Thesleeve 6 and the rod 7 are also made of polyethylene.

The rod 7 is adapted to penetrate the member 2 and is long enough tocompletely eject the pack 1.

A coating of lubricant is provided on the fingers 4 of the cylindricalmember 2 and on the corresponding end of the pack 1. This lubricant ispreferably soluble in water and may consist, for example, of a layer ofcertain polyvinyl alcohols. At the end near the sleeve 6 the pack 1 isprovided with a thread adapted to permit the extraction of the absorbentmaterial after use.

It will be seen that the apparatus according to the invention hassubstantial advantages over comparable devices heretofore known. In thefirst place, the end which comes in contact with the mucous membranes atthe moment of use has no sharp edge, thus avoiding any risk ofirritation. In the second place the presence of a lubricant at the endof the injector and at the corresponding end of the absorbent packfacilitates its introduction and positioning. In the third place, if theabsorbent pack absorbs a little humidity in the course of storage, andthereby increases its dimensions, the presence of the folds 3 in thewall of the cylidrical member 2 permits the inner diameter of thatmember to increase so that the absorbent pack does not become jammedinside the member holding it. Finally, it should be noted that thepresence of the lubricant at the free end of the injector and at thecorresponding end of the absorbent pack makes it possible to decrease,to a certain extent, the absorption of humidity by the absorbent packduring storage.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiment which has just beendescribed has been given purely by way of example, and may be modifiedas to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of theinvention, as defined by'the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pack in the form of an injector for holding an absorbent catamenialtampon, said injector comprising an elongated substantially cylindricalmember encircling said tampon and a piston extending into one end ofsaid cylindrical member, said piston being adapted to slide in saidcylindrical member and thereby eject said tampon, said cylindricalmember being made of a flexible material and formed with at least onelongitudinally extending inwardly projecting fold in the wall thereofwhich extends substantially the full length of that portion of saidcylindrical member encircling said tampon, renders said portion radiallyexpansible in response to internal pressure, and separates at least partof the outer surface of said tampon from the inner surface of thecylindrical member to form a space therebetween, the end of saidcylindrical member remote from the end into which said piston extendsbeing formed with a plurality of inwardly projecting flexible fingers.

2. Pack as claimed in cl'ainil in which said cylindrical member isformed with four folds extending the full length of said member anddefining four grooves which are regularly distributed about theperiphery of said cylindrical member.

3. Pack as claimed in claim 1 in which the cylindrical member consistsof a plastic material.

4. Pack as claimed in claim 1 in which the absorbent tampon, wheninitially positioned in the cylindrical member, is gripped between thebottoms of the folds in the wall of the cylindrical member.

5. Pack as claimed in claim 1 in which the end of the injector carryingthe flexible fingers and the corresponding end of the compressedabsorbent tampon are coated with a lubricant. t

6. Pack as claimed in claim 5 in which said lubricant is soluble inwater. T

7. Pack as claimed in claim 6 in which said lubricant is a polyvinylalcohol.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,413,480 12/ 1946- Winter128-270 3,196,873 7/1965 Bletzinger et al. 128---263 3,429,312 2/1969Stump l28263 3,433,225 3/1969 Voss et a1. 128263 3,581,744 6/1971 Vosset al. 128--263 CHARLES F. ROSENBAUM, Primary Examiner

